Finalists named for Arkansas Parks and Tourism Henry Awards program

The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism provided on Tuesday (Dec. 16) its list of Henry Award finalists, with Northwest Arkansas and the Fort Smith area connected to several of the potential winners.

The 2015 Henry Awards winners will be revealed at the 41st Annual Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism to be held in Texarkana at the Arkansas Convention Center March 8-10, 2015. The awards ceremony will take place during the Governor’s Banquet on the final night of the conference, March 10.

The Henry Awards honor Henri de Tonti, the man historians consider to be among the first “Arkansas Travelers.”

The awards and respective finalists are:
The Media Support Award, which is presented annually to a distinguished individual or organization for extraordinary attention to and/or support of Arkansas’s tourism industry through the use of media.
• Gospel Station Network, Ada, Oklahoma
• The Helena World, Helena-West Helena
• Jay Lindly (KDQN), De Queen

The Bootstrap Award, which is presented annually to an individual, organization, or community that has achieved significant success “on a shoestring,” having limited means to work with, either in resources or finances.
• Buck Fever Festival, Banks
• Helena Museum of Phillips County, Helena-West Helena
• WWII Japanese Internment Museum, McGehee

The Arkansas Heritage Award, which is presented annually to an individual, organization, or community that has made a significant contribution toward the preservation of some aspect of Arkansas’s natural, cultural or aesthetic legacy.
• Heifer Ranch, Perryville
• Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, Dyess
• Old Independence Regional Museum, Batesville

The Grand Old Classic Special Event Award, which is presented annually to a festival, fair or other special celebration that has “stood the test of time” and become an established example to follow.
• Eureka Springs Corvette Weekend, Eureka Springs
• Lights of the Ozarks, Fayetteville
• Quapaw Quarter Association Spring Tour of Homes, Little Rock

The Outstanding Volunteer Service Award, which is presented annually to a community, individual or organization that, through outstanding volunteer spirit, has made a substantial contribution to Arkansas’s tourism industry.
• Charles Snapp, Walnut Ridge
• Fatima Treuer, Eureka Springs
• Mulberry River Cleanup, Ozark

The Community Tourism Development Award, which is presented annually to an individual or organization that has achieved substantial success in the enhancement of its local resources through imaginative and innovative development efforts.
• BPW Barn Sale, Camden
• City of Conway, Conway
• Hot Springs Baseball Trail, Hot Springs

The Natural State Award, which is presented annually to a community, organization, special event or attraction that “stands out in the crowd” because of its unique appeal, media coverage, creative approach and/or enhancement of community pride, thus benefiting the state’s quality of life.
• Bridges of Pulaski County/River Lights in the Rock, Little Rock
• Fayetteville Ale Trail, Fayetteville
• Slaughter Pen Mountain Bike Trail, Bentonville

The Tourism Special Achievement Award, which is presented annually to an individual or organization that has contributed to the tourism industry through leadership “above and beyond” the normal requirements of their jobs.
• Best Western Arkansas Cooperative, Statewide
• Hope Platform Committee, Hope
• U.S. Marshals Commemorative Coin Program, Fort Smith

During the Henry Awards ceremonies, inductees into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame and the Tourism Person of the Year will also be announced. The Hall of Fame honor is presented annually to an individual or individuals who have been actively involved in tourism for many years and who have made substantial contributions to the betterment of the industry as a whole.

Selected by former honorees, the Tourism Person of the Year Award is presented annually to an individual who has been actively involved in tourism and who has made a substantial contribution, within the past year, to the betterment of the tourism industry as a whole.